Anderson, Bachmann, Tinklenberg Disagree on Bailout Bill in Debate

Press Release

Anderson, Bachmann, Tinklenberg disagree on bailout bill in debate

By Dennis Lien

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann will vote no Friday on the proposed $700 billion bailout plan on the House floor — just as she did on an earlier plan Monday.

Bob Anderson, the Independence Party candidate for Congress in the 6th District, would oppose it, too.

But Democratic challenger El Tinklenberg, an opponent of the initial plan, would support it.

Those are just a few of the distinctions evident this evening during the first campaign forum attended by all three of the district's congressional candidates. Over 90 minutes at Stillwater City Hall, they answered lots of questions, but engaged in little give and take with each other.

In the November election, Anderson and Tinklenberg are trying to unseat Bachmann, the first-term Republican representative in the district, which runs from the St. Croix River across the northern portion of the Twin Cities metropolitan area to beyond St. Cloud.

A conservative, Bachmann depicted herself as a tight-fisted budget cutter, someone willing to rein in spiraling budget deficits. As she's done throughout the summer, she also said America needs to develop all its energy resources, especially new oil and gas reserves from Colorado to Alaska to offshore sites.

Anderson, seeking office for the first time, pitched many of the same approaches as Bachmann.

"I do not feel that we should put these burdens on the taxpayers,'' the Woodbury dental technician said of the bailout package, adding later, "We all have to live within our means.''

As the Democratic challenger, Tinklenberg drew greater distinctions, saying the House decision to defeat the package already is causing problems on Main Street. He stressed his ability to work with both parties, and said Congress should have come up with a better proposal.

On energy, he too said America must lessen its reliance on foreign oil and use an array of strategies, including wind and solar. But Tinklenberg was the only one to mention conservation, which he said could have a huge impact.

While Anderson is the Independence Party candidate, Tinklenberg actually got that's party endorsement earlier this year.

Bachmann initially had planned to miss the Stillwater forum. She changed her mind after failing to get back to Minnesota in time for a debate Monday in Monticello because of the House vote on the bailout package.

Questions covered a wide range of topics, from the proposed bailout, to energy policy, to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to health care, to the still un-built Stillwater Bridge.

Economics issues dominated the debate.

Bachmann laid much of the blame for the nation's current financial woes on Congress, which she said loosened lending controls and encouraged much of the problems. She said it needs to get a handle on them, and needs people like her to do it.

"We're pushing these problems farther and farther down the road,'' she said, adding, "We need to be really sober about what is coming down on us.''

Tinklenberg went beyond Congress, broadening culpability to the Bush administration. "I think it's about time to ask for some accountability for the last eight years,'' he said to applause from many in the overflow crowd.

Besides cutting spending, he said the nation must "responsibly and safely disengage'' itself from Iraq and pay more attention to the fight in Afghanistan.

Noting that he is the only one of the candidates not raising campaign money, Anderson criticized a culture in Washington dominated by lobbyists and special interests. As the only true independent in the race, he said he wouldn't be beholden to anyone.

The candidate forum was broadcast live on Valley Access Channel 16 in the Stillwater area. It will be rebroadcast over the next five weeks.

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